It has been 109 Days since Booster Gold last appeared in a DCnU comic book.

Newsarama.com reports that Heroes in Crisis #9 will be delayed a week until May 29. They insinuate that this was an editorial decision to coincide the release with that of the much-delayed Doomsday Clock #10. Is Doctor Manhattan now to blame for the events of Heroes in Crisis, too?

(Side note: when reading Tom King's work, I so often feel like I understand what he was trying to say while simultaneously being terribly frustrated by how he has chosen to try to say it. In that vein, Heroes in Crisis could be one of the most irritating stories I've ever bought. King clearly wants to say some real things about a real public health crisis, but his message gets lost in a murder-mystery with a reveal that is impossible to see coming — the story admits that there are literally no clues — and makes the misguided decision to turn a beloved hero into a super villain [re-writing his powers in the process] in a manner that only serves to reinforce the initial public perceptions that King ostensibly wants to break down. Grr.)

Any-way.

Speaking of Heroes in Crisis, you may have noticed that Booster Gold appears only in flashback in issue #8. At least that's what I thought when I first read it. It was only on re-read that I realized that Booster's looming presence is probably foreshadowed (pun intended) in these panels set in the present.

See that big, round shadow? The big shadow. Not the little shadows within that shadow. (Does the Speed Force cast shadows now?) It sure seems to me that big round shadow is the Blue Beetle's Bug airship arriving to witness this pivotal scene.

A recent tweeted by Tom King of the splash page for Issue #9, showcasing the Bug streaking across a breathtaking sunset, looks to confirm my theory.

Art by Clay Mann & Tomeu Morey

Great Caesar's Ghost, that's amazing. My complaints about shadows (and Tom King's style) aside, this series really does have some of the most sublime art ever seen in a mainstream comic book.

Those of you who love the beard, take heart. You'll be seeing more of it before it goes away. Earlier this week, writer Tom King tweeted this image by artists Tony Daniel and Tomeu Morey from next week's Batman #47: